Staten Island's Art Lab to host launch party for Robert Geronimo's 'Little Maia' on Saturday

NEW SPRINGVILLE — A year after its conception, artist/illustrator Robert Geronimo's "Little Maia and the Coral City" has arrived — printed, published and released.

The Art Lab, where Geronimo teaches illustration, will throw a book launch party Saturday, June 28, from 5 to 8 p.m. All are welcome. The school is located on the grounds of the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terr., Livingston.

MEET 'LITTLE MAIA'

Geronimo's word-free picture book (Ascalon Press, $16.95), the colorful account of a girl on an amazing journey, is unusual on several levels.

Most radical of all, it's about a little girl. Publishers often prefer little heroes to heroines. Also, it looks deluxe and commercial, not do self-published at all

The paper is heavy, the colors are rich and complex and the whole presentation look plush and sturdy.

Geronimo had help with "Little Maia," a profitable Kickstarter campaign, plus a grant from Staten Island Arts.

The 27-year-old Geronimo, already an experienced small-press operator (he launched Ascalon specifically to publish "Little Maia") is well aware that he'll be fielding all the post-publication strategies himself, moving books out of cartons and into classrooms and libraries, story corners and night-stands.

CLASSROOM AWARENESS

So far, it's going well. Teachers have heard of the book. They've been calling him.

Apparently, because it doesn't depend on a text, "Little Maia" can be used in any classes, no matter what language is used.

Geronimo took pains to "draw" the narrative so that a wide range of readers, very small kids right up to 10 to 12-year-olds, can enjoy Maia's journey.

It starts where a lot of stories end, in a child bedroom. Maia (who has Little Orphan Annie eyes, a deliberate choice) wakes up during a terrible storm to find that her house is afloat in an immense flood.

Frightened, she goes back to sleep. When she awakens she finds that her house is beached in a strange world, where the inhabitants all look like fish (dressed, however, in stylish, human clothing).

Maia (we know from the title of the book) has arrived in Coral City, a beautiful place. It's safe from the flood because it's inside a giant fish.

The kindly green-skinned Coral City-ites immediately understand that while Maia is fascinated with their world, she's anxious to go home.

And much like their counterparts in the Land of Oz, they send her home.

For Geronimo, who is already incubating the further adventures of Little Maia, the story works on several levels: The elaborate detail of the drawings encourages close inspection and imaginative thinking. Scary elements prompt kids to handle their own fears successfully.

— Geronimo's book is available at S.I.'s Comic Book Jones, where the release will be celebrated July 2 (noon to closing). In Manhattan, it's at Forbidden Planet. Or click HERE.